The 15 MW Essakane solar plant, in northern Burkina Faso, has been officially opened. The photovoltaic (PV) plant will supply electricity to Iamgold’s Essakane gold mine.

Owing to its isolated location, the mine is currently off-grid and relies solely on heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Iamgold worked with the project’s sponsor, global renewable energy independent power producer Total Eren, to add solar capacity to the mine’s existing power system.

Made up of close to 130 000 PV panels, the solar plant will be an addition to the existing 57 MW HFO power plant, thereby creating the first hybrid PV-HFO plant and solar facility in Africa.

The project will help decrease the mine’s fuel consumption by about six-million litres a year and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 18 500 t.

“The transition to generating more of our energy from renewable sources has been central to Iamgold’s new energy strategy for several years now. “The inauguration of the hybrid solar/thermal power plant is a milestone in innovation and excellence, and one of which we are particularly proud,” said Iamgold president and CEO Stephen Letwin in a statement released in March.

Meanwhile, Total Eren executive VP and global head of business development Fabienne Demol noted that the project confirmed the company’s ability to collaborate, together with its partner, Africa Energy Management Platform, with mining companies to address their energy needs.

“Iamgold has successfully taken up the challenge to bring renewable power to mines and we demonstrated that, with the help of strong technical and financial partners and enough flexibility and creativity to come up with innovative business and structuring models, [coupled] with the continuous support of national decision-makers and local communities, we can execute reliable and effective solutions for competitive power supply, even in the most remote areas,” Demol added.

The Essakane solar plant will employ 40 permanent staff for the next 15 years.